Films Recently Watched

[Guest Mirezzi]

People use the term Corporate Psychopath when they often mean narcissism. It became a pop psych term when Clive Boddy wrote a book about it.

 

Anyhow, here is what I'm referring to, from Wikipedia:

 

 

Relationship to shame

It has been suggested that narcissistic personality disorder may be related to defenses against shame.^[23] Psychiatrist Glen Gabbard suggested NPD could be broken down into two subtypes.^[24] He saw the "oblivious" subtype as being grandiose, arrogant, and thick-skinned and the "hypervigilant" subtype as being easily hurt, oversensitive, and ashamed. In his view, the oblivious subtype presents for admiration, envy, and appreciation of a powerful, grandiose self that is the antithesis of a weak internalized self, which hides in shame, while thehypervigilant subtype neutralizes devaluation by seeing others as unjust abusers. Dr. Jeffrey Young, who coined the term "Schema Therapy", a technique originally developed by psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck (1979), also links NPD and shame. He sees the so-called Defectiveness Schema as a core schema of NPD, along with the Emotional Deprivation and Entitlement Schemas.^[25]

[lumpenprol]

funny, while you were typing that I was looking up the difference between shame and guilt, and found this interesting read (supports what you're saying):

 

http://www.afterpsychotherapy.com/shame-and-guilt/

[Guest Mirezzi]

Yeah, google your ass off, you'll love some of the research that's been done.

 

I had a handful of articles bookmarked at one point while dealing with my boss. I'll see if I can dig them up.

 

Then, I watched Horrible Bosses, which had a moment that was literally stripped directly from my life. When Kevin Spacey announces that he's not only the CEO but the Sales Manager, THAT FUCKING HAPPENED TO ME. Once upon a time, I dared to suggest that I might make a good candidate for a sales manager and that was the response I received. "That's not necessary and remember, I am not only the CEO. I'm also the Sales Manager."

 

I cried and laughed simultaneously during that scene.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/01/11/why-narcissistic-ceos-kill-their-companies/

Edited February 5, 2013 by The Overlook

[TRiP]

The Fall - worth it for the visuals/10

starts strong, but starts to get silly quick, felt too 'kid'ie' at times and a poor attempt at Princess Bride, still worth it for dat' cinematography

[Guest Mirezzi]

Yeah, I suppose that's true. I was bored out of my fucking mind by it though, and even the cinematography was a bit "generic art on the walls of a dentist's office."

[Dpek]

The Master - fantastic film, even tho it was made for Anderson himself and noone else.

[Silent Member]

I hated the fall, I felt like I was watching a 2 hour perfume commercial.

[TRiP]

Yeah, I suppose that's true. I was bored out of my fucking mind by it though, and even the cinematography was a bit "generic art on the walls of a dentist's office."

 

true, but at least it was all shot on emulsion and wasn't 'done in post' - all the locations etc. are real - so fair play to him/them for the effort - i can image if it was made today it'd turn into a worse film and be 90% digital effects

 

*edit*

actually, that opening sequence with the train is worth 2 sequential hours of boredom

 

Edited February 5, 2013 by TRiP

[Guest Jimmy McMessageboard]

 

jeff who lives at home - it broadcasts its goofy ass intentions through a series of cliche "realization" moments, culminating in susan sarandon standing in "the rain" of an office sprinkler system. the lesbian twist (whoops, spoiler) is obvious and trite. jeff's personal philosophy is some earnest pandering shit straight out of a rejected mcsweeney's story. then there's the direction: why is the camera always zooming in and out like an episode of the american office cut by paul greengrass? isn't this sort of a comedy? why all the close ups? that means when there's supposed to be emphasis on something, a close up, it loses all meaning. bad script, acting, direction, music, concept, title, on set catering. total. fucking. traaaash.

 

 

 

that's pretty much the consensus ive heard from anyone and everyone who has watched it. good to know to avoid.

 

i thought it was alright. if i was being harsh sure i could tear it down but it was alright.

must confess didnt notice any zooming

 

Jeff Who Lives At Home - 7.4/10 Damn good. Jeff's day out from his mum's basement, goes out and reconnects and meets his destiny.

 

[Guest Jimmy McMessageboard]

Jeff, who lives at home

Starting out I thought it was going to be a rather shallow comedy about a dufus stoner but it actually turned pretty deep and made me reflect on my own life, which is all you can ask from a film really. no real expectations for it so was actually a pleasant surprise.

[Guest Mirezzi]

Hmm.

 

It's made by the Safety Not Guaranteed guys and it's described as a "whimsical comedy" which is only slightly less ominous than "quirky comedy."

 

Will skip that one.

[Guest zaphod]

my former boss was a narcissist. it was a nightmare working for him and the saddest thing was his perceived power was false, as we both worked for the government and he had no real authority beyond his minor role as a project manager. it's strange how grandiose people can be within a meaningless bureaucratic structure.

[Guest zaphod]

arbitrage - a competent thriller but nothing more. listless direction drained any of the tension that would have existed if the scenes had been given room to breathe. a mellow fog hangs over this entire movie, lending it the air of a tv movie. the score didn't help. gere was good, i guess, although his performance seemed more like affectation to me than a fully realized character. he flits between charismatic moments of bravado and acumen and scenes of sheer panic and emotional unraveling, but there isn't much else to it. seemed like more of a fool than some kind of narcissistic business genius, at least to me. hasn't he seen these movies? tim roth's working class cop who sees through the bullshit of the billionaire was strange and felt out of place. the black kid (says a lot about his character that this is what i call him) was simply there to provide a stoic counterpoint to gere. what a boring, unbelievable character. he isn't a snitch, sure, but this isn't a corner in the hood. it's a white billionaire who is about to ruin your life. ultimately, i didn't care about anything that happened in this and very few scenes had any reality to them (brit marling talking to gere in the park about patriarchy being an exception). plus:

 

[youtubehd]f3YH5USzz14[/youtubehd]

Edited February 6, 2013 by zaphod

[Alcofribas]

basically in agreement with zaphod here. the roth and black kid characters were very awkward and both of their "resolutions" felt really hokey and one dimensional. it was an enjoyable movie but i kind of have a soft spot for these types of "thrillers."

 

quibble: am i the only one who consistently finds roth's american accent a bit off?

[lumpenprol]

 

seemed like more of a fool than some kind of narcissistic business genius, at least to me.

yeah, the moment where he gave "the black kid" the trust fund documents and let him walk off with them, I slapped my forehead. Nice job genius, it's not like the cops would ever get a search warrant for "black kid's" house, or that he could end up using it against you (for, say, blackmail).

 

that, and when he had the talk with the "eccentric billionaire" dude, getting him to write down the deal on the napkin/menu, and sign it. Sure, that'll hold up in a court of law!

 

basically in agreement with zaphod here. the roth and black kid characters were very awkward and both of their "resolutions" felt really hokey and one dimensional. it was an enjoyable movie but i kind of have a soft spot for these types of "thrillers."

 

quibble: am i the only one who consistently finds roth's american accent a bit off?

yes his American accent has always been weird

Edited February 6, 2013 by lumpenprol

[syd syside]

Half way through, In The Name of The Father, and damn this is a good film.

[Blir]

Why don't you just sit and watch a film, then comment on it when it's finished?

 

It's like people who sit down to watch a film and spend half the time checking their phone.

[syd syside]

Took a break cause I was hungry and quickly posted my excitement cause I was really enjoying the film. Shit do you never pause a movie to take a piss?

[Blir]

Yeah but I don't immediately jump online to write my thoughts on it.

[lumpenprol]

hang on you guys, I really want to continue reading your exchange, but I need to pee. Can you hold on a sec before posting anything more? Thanks in advance!

[syd syside]

In The Name Of The Father : 9.5/10 Pretty emotional film thanks to the excellent writing and acting. Daniel Day Lewis does a great job of displaying motivation and through that is able to connect with the audience on an emotional level, allowing us to see through the eyes of his characters. Even in something like There Will Be Blood, where there are few sympathetic commonalities, Plainview ultimately derives sympathy from the audience because he just seems so very human and real.

[Blir]

Probably would have been a 9.7 if you didn't pause it to post here and break the flow of the film the way you did.

[syd syside]

Yeah but I don't immediately jump online to write my thoughts on it.

 

I'm sorry my intermission movie impression post is a problem for you, but let me defend my actions a bit clearer.

 

I was watching this film, enjoying it immensely, took a small intermission (10-15 minutes), popped a soup on the stove and while waiting for the soup to get warm, I popped on watmm and posted as a way to open up any other thoughts on this film... so that when I had finished the film, as I have now, I could potentially read some other impressions on it as I enjoy comparing them with my own. Of course that did not happen, so in hindsight there was little point to my post and had I known it would bother you I would have never posted. My deepest apologizes.

Edited February 6, 2013 by compson

[Blir]

We're sensitive this morning aren't we!

[syd syside]

No not sensitive, just having a bit of fun and satirically pointing out that your analogy of texting on your phone during a film is very different than taking an intermission. Because I do get annoyed when people are doing that and I don't appreciate condescending generalizations that rudely place me in that group of assholes. I will not stand for this injustice Obel! You will be hearing from my lawyer.

Edited February 6, 2013 by compson